


Divine Absolution

by Ruunkur



Series: Divine Ripples [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Annette is a good character, But I don't think I ever actually called it weed, But those are the characters that have the most speaking parts, Canon typical violence?, F/F, I loved writing her, Reincarnation AU, others are mentioned - Freeform, weed is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23191255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruunkur/pseuds/Ruunkur
Summary: In a world where dreams tell you of your past life in reverse, Annette was always able to forgive. Moving on was what she intended to do.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Mercedes von Martritz
Series: Divine Ripples [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659364
Kudos: 11





	Divine Absolution

**Author's Note:**

> Five down, twenty to go!
> 
> I... did not edit this as much as I probably should have.

_"Do you really think this was okay?"_

_Annette stood near the back of the group, hands tightly wrapped around her axe. The woman on the pegasus next to her snorted, hands tightening around the reins._

_"We follow his highness into battle, serving the kingdom. It is not our place to question him."_

_Annette looked up at Ingrid, eyes wide as the Alliance army moved. She raised her axe, Ingrid taking to the sky._

_"Just like last time. It.. it's just a mock battle." Annette whispered, drawing in a breath. She moved with the tide, watching the others. She cut her way through the onslaught of enemies, one particular fireball separating her from the others._

_"Shit," Annette muttered, taking stock of what she had on her. With a glance around, Annette froze._

_"Felix!"_

_The swordsman turned, leveling his weapon at her chest. "You shouldn't be here!"_

_"You should have… why did you leave the kingdom?" Annette demanded, narrowing her eyes. She shifted her stance, a spell already coming to mind._

_"I'd rather strengthen my blade than follow a mad beast into a pointless war." Felix scoffed, adjusting his grip. "At least with the Alliance, we have a chance."_

_"But he's your friend!"_

_"We haven't been friends for years, Annette. Get out of my way."_

_"No, I won't let you near the others!" Annette responded, watching the sword flash. She let out a scream as it came down._

_"Annette!"_

*~*~*~*~*

Annette placed the book on the shelf, turning her head.

"If he's in town, why don't you just talk to him, Felix?"

Felix let out a hum, Annette turning to look at him. She pinned him with a stare, crossing her arms over her chest.

“We saw each other at Rodrigue’s house yesterday. It… ended poorly. More yelling than talking. And I walked out.”

Annette sighed, shaking her head. “You are one of the worst people I know when it comes to emotions. Do you know anything more than just… yelling at people, Felix? Don’t you want to talk to him and reconnect with him?”

"It's been years. What are we even going to talk about?"

Annette let out a sigh. "I mean, this is the first time I’ve heard about him being alive. It’s not like I’ve seen him since he's been back, but he might be doing better. I don’t know, what did you talk about before?”

Felix hesitated, glancing away. “I guess we just… let being friends take its natural course. We tried not to mention the past and the dreams. Those are private things. And, as it seems to have happened in the past, we drove it right into the ground. We just seem to feed off each other and make each other angry.”

“Are you sure that’s just not you?”

“... fine, I tend to just get angry looking at his face.”

“Well, what do you want me to suggest?”

Felix hesitated, shaking his head and looking away. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe you should try talking to him about the past. Actually talking to him, not just going straight to yelling," Annette suggested, “maybe getting the air cleared will help you with how you work with each other.”

"What would we have to say to each other? Sorry we decided to have sex and you slipped into an episode where you couldn't tell reality from a fucking dream?" Felix uncrossed his arms, looking away. “Sorry that the ghost of my dead brother still haunts us both? Though, he did mention that he was doing better...”

Annette sighed, her foot tapping against the carpet in thought. "Did you come by just to bitch about that?"

"Maybe I was hoping to catch you singing some silly little song."

Annette opened her mouth, a blush crossing her face. "I do not-" she began, "how do you even remember that! And maybe you’re the one that needs to get therapy. Have you considered that?"

Felix smirked, his eyes dancing in amusement. "It's one of my favorite dreams. And… maybe I have. But, how do you get therapy for traumas from the past?”

“There’s been an uprise of therapists that focus on past life therapy. Maybe you can look into one of them.” Annette suggested, turning to look at Felix. The man grimaced but let out a sigh, closing his eyes.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ve been putting too much of… my personal issues with the past into the present. Hey, you know Mercedes, right?" Felix relented, unwilling to look up at Annette.

Annette frowned as she looked at her cart of books, turning back to Felix. "Yes, we live together. How do you not know this?"

Felix gave her a look, turning to the shelves. "We never discuss our home lives. Or, at least, you don’t."

"Right…" Annette glanced at him, shaking her head. "Anyway, why are you here?"

"Sylvain has Claude over and I wanted out of the house before I got sick of hearing them." Felix shook his head, glancing away.

“Claude?”

Felix nodded, Annette widening her eyes. She smiled, grasping at Felix’s hand.

“That’s so great that Sylvain found Claude!”

“It would have been better if Claude hadn’t brought the boar with him. Apparently, Dimitri’s been hiding in Almyra with Claude for the past ten years.”

Annette opened her mouth before she closed it, glancing away. “Well, isn’t that interesting! Oh, did you have a question about Mercie?”

Felix shifted, glancing away from Annette for a moment. “Yes, actually. What’s she up to nowadays?”

“She owns a bakery. Actually, she mentioned seeing Sylvain a few days ago! I guess that would have been you he was going to the bakery for. Though, hey, if you ever talk to Mercie, just make sure whatever she gives you is clean, okay?” Annette asked.

“What do you mean by clean?” Felix asked.

Annette let out a little laugh, turning back to her cart of books. “Well, she has some really fucked up dreams, so she uses medical marijuana to help her sleep. Sometimes, she’ll share her edibles, but she does tell everyone what’s in them first!” She went back to reshelving books as she spoke, her words drifting into a hum.

Felix nodded, glancing away from Annette. “What do you know about Lorenz’s get togethers?”

Annette paused, glancing over her shoulder at the man. He was looking at one of the books on the shelf, his gaze guarded. “Well, a few of us attend on the regular. I try to attend at least once a week, but Mercie gets to both of them more often than I do. Honestly, it’s a bit like reliving our old school days when we get together. And it’s… nice to just be ourselves. Were you thinking of coming? There’s going to be one tomorrow.”

Felix let out a grunt, picking up the book and flipping through it. His gaze scanned several pages before he placed it on the ‘To Be Reshelved’ shelf, shaking his head.

“I was considering it. Claude and Leonie both invited Sylvain.”

Annette smiled at him, her eyes brightening. “You should definitely come out, Felix! It would be so good to see you! Oh, if you do come, let me know! I’ll save you a seat if I’m already there!”

Felix nodded, looking at another book in thought. He picked it up, looking through several pages before he started to head to the front of the library.

“I’ll see you later, Annette!”

“Have a good day, Felix!” Annette smiled to herself as she turned back to the books. She looked at the one that Felix had left behind, raising her eyebrow. She picked it up to return to the shelf, hesitating just a moment.

“Why is he looking up information on the Fodlan war?” she muttered, reshelving it with a sigh. She shook her head, deciding it wasn’t worth it.

*~*~*~*~*

“Mercie, are you home?”

Annette flipped on the light as she shut her door, glancing around the house. She frowned as she sniffed the air, heading towards the kitchen.

“Oh, hello!” Mercedes looked up from a book, her eyes shining as Annette dropped her purse on the table. “How are you doing today?”

Annette smiled, looking over the mess on the counters. “Today was pretty good! Felix stopped by and we chatted, which was nice.”

Mercedes smiled, placing the batter to the side and leaned against the counter. “What did Felix have to say?”

Annette shifted, brushing hair out of her face as she looked at the various baked treats on the counter. “Apparently, Dimitri’s back.”

Mercedes’ eyes flashed at the name, a frown pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Oh, he’s back?”

Annette nodded, leaning against the bar to watch Mercedes. “From what Felix said, he was in Almyra for ten years, with Claude of all people. He didn’t elaborate, but I think it’s got Felix in a mood.”

“Hmm, what sort of mood would that be?”

Annette rolled her eyes, letting out a huff. “Angsty, angry teenager mood. Watcha baking for?”

Mercedes smiled at her, brushing hair out of her face. “The Golden Days meetup. Lorenz asked if I could bake some extra goodies, as someone new is coming tomorrow. I’m just glad he agreed to the partnership with the bakery. He’s half of my sales.”

Annette nodded, glancing away. It was quiet for a few moments, Mercedes humming to herself before Annette cleared her throat. “I was thinking of going to the next meetup. If you need help bringing stuff over, let me know!”

Mercedes nodded, her gaze bright. “I’ll be happy that you’re there, Annette. It’s always so nice to see familiar faces.”

“Who usually attends?” Annette asked, watching as Mercedes turned back to her baking, a thoughtful frown on her face.

“Well, Lorenz, Ferdinand, Dorothea, myself, Hilda, and Marianne. Ingrid and Ashe make it out on occasion and I believe Leonie is becoming a regular fixture. Lorenz is quite excited at getting to expand his meeting.”

Annette nodded, leaning against the counter. She shifted, her gaze drifting to what was already prepared. “You did make sure to mark what has what in it, right?”

Mercedes gave her a smile, her eyes warm. “Of course! It wouldn’t do to get it mixed up. I would hate for it to happen again.”

“Lorenz was so mad at you.” Annette laughed with Mercedes, the woman standing up straight and shaking her head.

“He’s just mad because he couldn’t act so refined and uptight like he’s always preaching. It was nice to see him relax.”

Annette shifted her stance, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Even if we aren’t nobles by name, we can still have our upstanding nobility to carry us through this life. Why, look at my tea house and how noble it would have been and how pleasurable people find it to come and indulge in the finer tastes in life.”

“He’d be so angry if he heard that.”

Annette smirked at Mercedes, shaking her head. “I know. He’s such an uptight asshole sometimes. But, he really is good when you break through that outer shell.”

“I can’t believe that Claude was able to keep the Alliance together with the Gloucester faction at his throat.”

Mercedes nodded. “He used the in-fighting to gain the upperhand. It would have been nice to see the end result, but I’m glad that peace was brought to Fodlan.”

Annette nodded, reaching out and taking a swipe of the batter that was in front of Mercedes. The woman just shook her head, her eyes filled with light as Annette went to the bedroom to change.

*~*~*~*~*

Annette ran a hand over her hair, balancing the containers in her lap as Mercedes drove.

“Who is Lorenz trying to impress anyway?” Annette asked, looking at the various baked goods. There were more at her feet, Mercedes offering her a shrug as she parked the vehicle.

“He wanted to keep it a secret. If the person doesn’t show up, he’ll be disappointed, I’m sure.” Mercedes turned off the car, reaching out and taking several of the boxes. “Though, he’s welcome to keep extras for tomorrow, if he wants them.”

Annette nodded, opening her door. She let out a small gasp as it nearly collided with the man in question, who took a quick step back.

“Ah, hello Annette, Mercedes. It’s such a pleasure. Do you require assistance taking anything in?” Lorenz asked, sidestepping the door. His eyes widened as Annette passed him off several boxes, getting out of the car while Mercedes went around to the other side, her own stack nestled in her arms.

“I hope we didn’t over prepare, I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to bring. Anything left over can be reused tomorrow during business,” Mercedes offered, “how are you tonight, Lorenz? And how has business been?”

Lorenz smiled, Annette getting the rest of the items out of the car and closing her own door. “I am quite well, thank you for asking. It’s going quite well. We have all of our rooms booked for tomorrow and Marianne will be assisting.”

Annette glanced between the pair, trailing slightly behind him. She tuned the conversation out once they started talking business, her gaze glancing around the hallways. The current meeting room was lit, other rooms cast into darkness.

“Do people really like tea that much?” Annette asked, glancing at Lorenz.

Lorenz paused, looking back at her. “It’s more than just tea. We’re showing the masses how the art of tea was done, a thousand years ago.”

“Right… tea is tea.” Annette set the boxes down on the table that Lorenz indicated once they were inside the room. “How different can it be from a thousand years ago?”

Lorenz looked at her, his eyes going wide. “How different…? Why, I can show you how different a tea ceremony is. Not tonight, of course, but there is the proper decorum and-”

“Ah, hello! Am I interrupting?” Leonie asked, walking into the room. “I ended up coming earlier than expected, but the door was open so…”

Lorenz glanced at Leonie, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Just the person I need to speak with. Tell Annette just how different a tea ceremony is from a thousand years ago to today. You work in a coffee shop and serve tea there as well, don’t you?”

Leonie glanced from Lorenz to Annette, raising an eyebrow. “Nah, this doesn’t sound like a conversation I feel comfortable being a part of. Mercedes, I hope you’re well! Oh, that reminds me. Raphael told me he wasn’t going to make it tonight. Something about… an unexpected trip? Either way, he wanted me to pass that along.”

Lorenz nodded, turning to look at Leonie. “Of course, they will be missed, but nothing we can do about that. Would you assist me in setting up the room?”

Annette and Leonie both nodded as Mercedes set out the baked treats, placing one box of cookies into her purse.

“Are you expecting a higher than usual turn out tonight?” Leonie asked, following Lorenz to the spare room. He pulled out several extra chairs, pushing the stack towards the women.

Lorenz let out a hum. “I have confirmation that we’ll have at least one new face, but I was asked to keep it a secret. It is possible that they don’t show up at all, of course.”

Leonie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, a secret is it?”

“Is it Claude?” Annette asked, watching Lorenz’s face morph into horror.

“How did you-” he began.

Annette shook her head. “I happened to talk to Felix yesterday and he mentioned that Claude was in town. He wanted to get out of the house to avoid Sylvain and Claude for a while, actually.”

“Ah, of course.” Lorenz nodded to himself, looking away as he picked up two more chairs.

“Hey, I saw Claude at work the other day, too!” Leonie said, stopping as she adjusted her grip on her chairs. “It was nice to see him again. We have almost all of the Golden Deer back together!”

Lorenz let out a hum. “Well, as long as I can offer a safe place for people to speak of their pasts, I will continue hosting these events. But, yes, you are right. It’s such a shame that Raphael could not be here tonight.”

“Have you ever found out where Lysithea ended up?” Leonie asked, the trio entering the room once more. Lorenz shook his head, Annette dropping off her two chairs near the couch. She gave the room a quick glance over, moving to sit next to Mercedes.

They sat in the silence as others drifted in, greeting everyone who joined. The room quickly grew warm, Annette shoving her jacket off and laying it to the side. Mercedes’s attention was on Hilda, Marianne looking over Ignatz’s shoulder as he sketched.

“Would you like to share a cookie?” Mercedes asked, pulling the small canister from her purse. Annette eyed it, glancing up at her.

“Will you be okay to drive?”

Mercedes gave her a nod, breaking the cookie in half and handing it to her.

They both glanced up as everyone fell silent, Hilda blinking and brushing hair out of her face. She was the first to speak, her face breaking into a smile.

“Claude?”

“No way!”

“Where have you been-”

Annette lost track of the conversation as everyone bombored Claude with questions, her gaze swinging from Claude to Dimitri behind him. The man was staring around the room, Dedue standing silently to the side.

Her heart turned over as she thought of the last time she had seen him, unhinged and calling for the head of Edelgard. She shook herself, eating the cookie Mercedes had passed her.

Ferdinand shook his head, glancing at Dorothea. “At this rate, it’s a conspiracy that there are so many of us together.” Dorothea glanced at him, raising an eyebrow and looking away. The others seemed to falter, noticing who had come with Claude.

Annette watched in interest as Dimitri tried to step back but something stopped him, a glimpse of red hair becoming visible.

“Wow, I did not expect this many people here tonight.” Sylvain commented, his gaze flicking over everyone.

Lorenz looked up at Sylvain, his eyes narrowing in disdain and Annette had to wince as he spoke. “You are the one that is always mocking my tea house, Sylvain. What are you doing here?”

“Ah, well, Claude extended an invitation that I couldn’t refuse. And you know how he is with that tongue of his.” Sylvain waggled his eyebrows at Lorenz, the man turning a bright red and Annette stifled her giggle.

“Seriously, Sylvain? Do you ever try to keep it in your head?”

Ingrid’s voice was punctual, the woman looking up from her spot near Ashe, the pair sitting on Lorenz’s left. Annette smiled, shaking her head in amusement.

“It looks like we’re almost all together, huh?” Claude asked, bringing the attention back to himself.

“Yes, I suppose so.” Lorenz sniffed, glancing at the newcomers. “Had I known we would have so many people, I would have used one of the bigger rooms.”

“Heh, sorry about that. Leonie didn’t mention if you had to RSVP or not, so we thought we’d just show up.” Sylvain shrugged as Dimitri stepped to the side, gaze turned to the ground. Mercedes turned to look at him, a smile on her face.

“Would you like a cookie?”

Dimitri opened his mouth, glancing at the others. He quickly shook his head no, shrinking down in himself as the others decided that he wasn’t of much interest after all. The air settled into much more relaxed, Mercedes passing around the cookies, of which half of the gathered collective shook their heads, giving her a look before looking at the other pastries that were provided.

“Dimitri.”

Annette watched in interest as Felix approached the man. She wasn’t sure how long had passed since they all greeted Dimitri and Dedue, Ingrid sitting close to Dedue as he and Ashe traded recipes, using several sheets of paper Ignatz supplied.

Annette hadn’t moved, her gaze sliding away from the pair as Felix leaned against the wall. She gave him a quick smile, quickly getting up and making her way over to Dedue and Ingrid.

“Hello, Dedue, how have you been?” Annette asked, sitting next to them.

“I have been well and yourself?” Dedue asked, turning to look at her.

Annette waved her hand in the air. “It’s been going okay. Been keeping busy.”

“You didn’t seem surprised to see them,” Ingrid commented, looking up from her phone.

Annette nodded, brushing hair out of her face. “Felix stopped by the library yesterday. I wasn’t expecting them to come, but I knew they were in town.”

Ingrid frowned, glancing from Ashe to Dedue. “I see.”

Dedue glanced between the two, clearing his throat. “Do you and Felix no longer talk?”

Annette winced as Ingrid’s gaze went hard, her head turning to see where Felix was leaning against the wall, talking with Dimitri. “No, he still hasn’t apologized.”

“Felix is probably never going to apologize,” Annette pointed out, “it’s not really in his nature you know.”

“How could you even say something like that?” Ingrid demanded.

Annette raised an eyebrow, glancing from Ashe to Dedue. She cleared her throat, her gaze softening as she met Ingrid’s gaze. “Are you angry about him not apologizing in the recent past or the past-past?” she asked, shifting closer to Ingrid.

“Annie, what was the first thing you dream of?” Ingrid asked.

Annette shifted, glancing from her to Ashe. The silver-haired man had sunk behind his collection of recipes, Dedue looking away.

“Well, it’s the same as all of you, I suppose. My death. Ingrid, we fought in a war. There’s only so much death and destruction that you can pin on someone else-”

They all looked up as there was a crack, Claude opening his mouth as he looked at the cup he had dropped. Sylvain had jumped out of the way of the hot liquid, giving Claude a quick look.

“Sorry about that, I’ll pay for the cup, Lorenz. Uhm, while I have everyone’s attention…” He shuffled to the side, taking several envelopes out of a messenger bag. “I have invites.”

“Invites?” Lorenz asked, Annette ducking away from Ingrid and returning to Mercedes's side. The woman gave her a questioning look. Annette just shook her head, meeting Ingrid’s gaze from across the room before looking away.

“Yes, invites. I have one for everyone from our… group. There’s going to a ball, at Garrag Mach Monastery.”

He stood in the center of the room, Marianne already returning with several towels and paper towels to clean up the mess.

“And what do you get out of us being there?” Hilda asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“The promise.”

Annette’s gaze flicked to Sylvain, watching the seriousness that was not nearly masked well enough.

“Five years before we met again at the monastery, the Golden Deers made a promise to meet at the monastery for the millennium festival. Well, the second millennium is coming up in December. I want everyone to get together and just… celebrate, like we should have. Which means, does anyone know how to get in touch with Edelgard and Hubert?” Claude asked as he began to pass out invites.

Annette accepted hers, looking at her name on the front. She looked back up at Claude, the man pausing long enough to smile at her.

“But, if it was a Golden Deer thing, why invite everyone?” Annette asked.

Claude hesitated, looking around the room. Mercedes frowned in agreement but accepted her own invite, looking it over.

“I do also have to question your motives, Claude.”

“Come on! I bet if Claude’s inviting us, he’ll be the one throwing together the party. I bet it’ll be a lot of fun! I’ll go,” Hilda promised, “but… you do realize that we aren’t all here, right? I haven’t heard from Lysithea or Linhardt at all.”

Claude cleared his throat. “I’ve been in touch with a few of the others, so it’s going to be as close of a full house as I can get. At the very least, I plan on going. If none of you want to come, or if only some of you want to come, I understand.” He held an invite to Ingrid, the woman narrowing her eyes before she sighed.

“Are you really planning on inviting Edelgard?” she asked, taking the invite and tucking it into her pocket.

“Well, if I can find her, yes.” Claude glanced around, gaze landing on Ferdinand.

The man shook his head, holding his hands up. “I will have no part of this. We may be different, but I still fear for my own life if I were to cross her.”

“I agree with Ferdie. If you want to find them, you have to do it on your own,” Dorothea sighed, accepting her invite, “but I’d be delighted to attend.”

Claude smiled, Annette looking down at her invite. She looked back up, seeing the startled stare Dimitri was giving Claude. With a sigh, Felix ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, if you think you can get everyone to go, I would be delighted to see who doesn’t come.” Lorenz shifted in his chair, picking up his teacup. “Do you really think you could get everyone to come?”

Claude grinned, his eyes flashing. “I will accept that challenge. So, what does everyone say? You want to come and party like it’s the year eleven eighty five with… a lot less weapons. All your weapons are supposed to stay home. No weapons allowed on the monastery grounds, please. Actually, let’s make it that we’re partying like it’s eleven eighty. Still, a lot less weapons. Please. For the safety-”

“Aren’t all the Hero’s Relics on display at the monastery?” Lorenz asked.

Claude glanced at him, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yes, I suppose they are. But no one has been born bearing a crest in four centuries. We aren’t going to mess with them now.”

Sylvain smirked, putting an arm around Claude’s shoulders. “I would hate for the news to get a hold of that story. ‘Group of adults break into the Monastery, mythical beasts emerge in their place.”

Annette shook her head, feeling Mercedes’s hand on her knee. She glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow. “Ready to go, Mercie?” she asked, voice low.

“As long as you are,” Mercedes said, moving to stand.

Claude glanced at them, smiling. “I hope you ladies have a wonderful night.”

“You as well, Claude.” Mercedes took the tin out of her pocket, placing it in Claude’s hands now that they were empty. “We’ll see you at the monastery, if not before.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek, Annette following her out.

“Are you okay?”

Mercedes glanced back at Annette, smiling at her. “I’m fine. What do you think of Claude’s announcement?”

Annette looked at the invite in her hand. She opened it carefully, turning on the car light to read.

“Dear Annette,

It warms my heart to see that you have returned to this time and place.

We are hosting a gathering for the second millennium passing at Garreg Mach Monastery in the Ethereal Moon of 2185. Please RSVP with Claude at the number below.

Thank you.”

Annette looked up at Mercedes, the woman’s eyes soft as she met Annette’s gaze.

“I would like to go.”

“Okay then, we’ll go!” Annette said with a smile, tucking the invite into her pocket. She leaned back in her seat, a smile on her face as Mercedes drove them home.


End file.
